Wind Power

Wind Power

Harnessing the Wind
1. Flying
  1. Humans have long yearned to flying i.e. Icarus
    1. Da Vinci designed flying machines that were never built
    2. Otto Lilienthal died in the pursuit of flight
  2. Benoulli's Principle explains how flight is possible
    1. A fluid that is moving faster has lower pressure,
      1. The shape of a wing causes air to flow faster over the top of the wing than it does beneath
        Which produces a lower pressure above the wing and a higher one below the wing
        Creating a PGF that pushes upwards
  3. Revolutionized travel, in 2000 8,000 flights were taking place at any moment
2. Sailing
  1. Long history in Middle East and China
  2. Efficient means of transportation carrying people and goods from port to port and bringing prosperity to costal regions
    1. Used for exploration too
  3. When the Lanteen was invented we could now sail into the wind
  4. Based on the same principle as flying, "lift" is horizontal rather than vertical
    1. Sails are oriented so that wind flows faster over the front of the sail creating a PGF that pulls the sail forward
      1. The keel provides resistance and keeps the boat moving forward
Power Generation
1. Windmills
  1. Used for grain grinding and water pumping
    1. Horizontal and Vertical Axis emerged.
      1. Horizontal was more efficient.
2. Wind Turbines
  1. Used to generate electricity
    1. 1% of Canadian energy is produced by wind
      1. Can be increased to 5% but is stopped by NIMBY
        Noise and look of turbines is unattractive
  2. Invented in 1888
  3. Turby is a good alternative which does not produce the noise that current wind turbines do
3. Wind Energy basics
  1. Wind is a form of solar energy, winds are caused by uneven heating of atmosphere by the sun
    1. When harnessed by wind turbines it generates electricity
  2. Wind energy is the process by which wind is used to generate electricity
  3. Horizontal and Vertical axis designs
    1. Components include
      1. Blade which converts wind energy to rotational shaft energy
      2. Drivetrain, which is a gearbox + generator
      3. Tower
4. Pros
  1. It is a free, renewable resource
  2. Clean, non-polluting electricity
5. Cons
  1. Expensive requires higher initial investment
  2. The Noise kills birds
  3. Intermittent, wind will not always blow when you need it

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	Created by Andrew Fawls over 9 years ago